Set
by Night's Darkness
Summary: It was tangible, what They had. And now it was gone. And it was his fault.' Set after TATV oneshot


Ok, this is just a small ficlet dealing with the aftermath of TATV. Enjoy!

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**Set**

They were a set. Shran had seen it when he'd seen Them together. How They'd speak to each other, look at each other, stand by each other. He'd get a softness in His bright blue eyes, She'd get a bright glint in Her smouldering brown ones.

Shran stood outside, staring up at the sky, gazing at the stars. He did it a lot now. Maybe he was hoping to see something. Something that would tell him that he could make amends. But he never saw anything but the same old stars.

Shran's daughter was happy to be home. Shran's wife was ecstatic to have them both back. Shran was glad of their comfort. Talla's smile was enough to make Shran feel happy for a while. But still… Shran knew things weren't right.

Shran had seen His smile as She spoke to Him. The sparkle in Her gaze as He listened. They were so different; one was so open and the other was so closed off. Yet They worked perfectly together, even when They argued.

Shran's wife was always beautiful, but as she filled out again her beauty was unlike anything in the universe. Her stomach swelled gradually and she lay in Shran's arms at night, helping Shran to forget the weight of his failure.

Shran had wanted to say something to Her. Shran had wanted to tell Her he was sorry. It was strange to think of when they first met and how Shran would have laughed at the idea of apologising to a Vulcan.

Now Shran wanted nothing less than to meet Her eyes and tell Her he was truly sorry. Tell Her he'd never for a moment believed it would happen. If he had he would have tried to stop it.

Part of Shran wanted to ask questions. How did they catch up? How did they get on board? Where was security? Why the hell had He done what he did? More than anything though Shran wanted to say thank you to the man who gave his life for him and his daughter.

She was ice and He was fire. She was a scientist and He was a dreamer. Shran barely knew Them in the end; being able to count the amount of times he'd met Them on his hands. Yet he could see so much between Them.

It was tangible, what They had. And now it was gone. And it was his fault. He'd been a fool. He'd been too careless. How had he been so stupid? He'd let his own baby girl get taken and now a good man was dead. And it was all his fault!

Jhamel groaned and huffed as the labour wore on. Shran stood by her side, holding her hand, kissing her brow, and soothing her skin with cool cloths. He whispered encouragements to her when she felt the strain, and smiled proudly when she kept going.

For a long time they'd debated on names. Aenar names, Andorian names, names of those lost, names of great people. Then one night, as he rested his head on her belly, listening to the movements within, he knew the perfect choice.

His son was placed in his arms and he admired him. Admired the near cerulean blue of his skin, the way his eyes roamed about as his first screams faded softly and the faint tug of strong telepathy the boy possessed. His father's sight and his mother's sight.

Shran smiled down at him and waited for his son to look at his face curiously before saying in greeting,

"Hello Charlie."

At first Trip had been an idea for the name, but Shran knew that was the nickname of the engineer. So he'd found out his real name. Neither Shran nor Jhamel liked the sound of Charles, but they did like the sound of Charlie. And that was that.

Charlie looked around again as Shran passed him to his mother and then Shran accepted his new daughter from the on-hand doctor. He studied this child who was far smaller than her brother, but such was the norm of Andorian twins.

Her eyes were milky, indicating she was blind, like her mother. There was no tug of telepathy, so she was also mentally blind, like her father. Where her brother had two strengths, she had none. No matter.

Her skin was the palest of blues and she cooed calmly. She was serene to her twin's fire. Shran smiled at her and carefully touched her cheek with a free hand.

"Hello T'pol."

His family had been disbelieving when he'd told them he was naming his child after a Vulcan. But Trip and T'pol had been a set that he'd destroyed. The least he could do was honour it by forming a new one.

T'pol cooed again and despite that she couldn't see in any way, she tried to explore her world with all the curiosity of her namesake. Charlie squealed in Jhamel's arms and looked for his sister. T'pol looked towards the sound.

"I think you were right." Jhamel said, relief evident in her voice now that the labour was over. "They are bonded strongly together." Shran smiled even wider as he crouched beside his beautiful wife and kissed her.

"They are a set. They compliment each other."

"Well chosen names then."

"Yes." He looked at the newborns and how they searched for each other. "Well chosen."

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Reviews are always appreciated!

Night's Darkness


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